Saleh, Al-Kadhimi and Al-Halbousi call for dialogue

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Iraqi President Barham Saleh affirmed, on Saturday, that his country is going through a delicate situation as it is faced with difficult challenges.

Saleh said, during the Islamic Conference to Resist Violence against Women, that "the country is going through a difficult time and is being faced with grave challenges," stressing that "the current political stalemate is unacceptable."

The Iraqi President also added that "Dialogue should prevail regardless of the degree of disagreement," noting that "the various political movements must not turn into a clash that threatens the integrity of the national unity project aimed at building the state and its institutions."

Saleh further continued: "It is necessary to address the existing deficiencies, in order to reach radical solutions that would enable the Iraqis to build a real state that protects and serves the interests of all Iraqis." 

The President insisted that dialogue must prevail in order to avoid escalation and internal wars “in which everyone loses."

Al-Kadhimi: National Dialogue Initiative right way to resolve crisis

Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi stressed, in a speech at the same conference, that the key to a political solution in Iraq is for everyone to join the national dialogue roundtable. The PM also noted that the National Dialogue Initiative is "the right way to resolve the crisis, and everyone should bear responsibility to reach solutions," calling on everyone to "make concessions."

He continued, "The trust between the brothers and the deep ties that unite us must be restored," stressing that "the national dialogue initiative is the right way to resolve the crisis."

The Iraqi Prime Minister indicated that the country "still has a great opportunity to achieve economic growth," adding that "We have overcome an economic crisis and provided salaries to employees."

Al-Halbousi: Towards an early elections

In turn, Parliament Speaker Muhammad Al-Halbousi stressed the need to sit at the dialogue roundtable and proceed with early elections. He said " I call on the political forces to engage in the dialogue process and take a step forward toward early elections," reiterating his "support for the national dialogue initiative."

The speaker further added that "The country's situation cannot continue to deteriorate," pointing out that the government will not be able to spend any money without a budget by the end of this year.

Two days ago, the four top Iraqi officials stressed the need to stop the escalation and adopt dialogue to solve the severe political crisis in the country, and stressed that political turmoil affects the security and safety of citizens.

For its part, the Popular Mobilization Authority declared that it "will not be party to the current political crisis.”

This came after the country's top judicial council announced that it was suspending its works, the Federal Supreme Court's, and its subsidiary courts'.

Since the early parliamentary elections in October 2021, Iraq has been suffering from a severe political crisis, as consultations between the political parties over naming a prime minister did not lead to a result. Consequently, members of the Sadrist movement within Parliament submitted their resignation after calls by the leader of the movement Muqtada Al-Sadr.

Read more: Iraqi authorities call for de-escalation, dialogue to resolve crisis